-THE LAYOUTThe Members Club at Four Streams was designed by PGA TOUR veteran and major championship winner Nick Price and famed architect Steve Smyers. The par-71, 6,952-yard track is recognized as one of Maryland's finest golf facilities, and is the home course for the Georgetown University men's and women's golf programs. Notre Dame placed second in last season's event, firing a team score of 865 to finish two strokes behind tournament champion Toledo.

-GUMP ON THE COURSE"For me as a player I like the golf course because you get what you deserve. Some courses are more exciting to play, like TPC Sawgrass with that island (17th) green, but that is very much pass or fail. There is not a grey area there, if you're a little off you are very much penalized. The Georgetown event is a little more user-friendly, there are some tough holes out there but by and large it is not a pass or fail where you might make a two or an eight."

-MARATHON FIRST DAYThe 54-hole stroke play tournament begins with a shotgun start Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. Players will complete two continuous 18-hole rounds on day one before finishing with a final 18 holes on Tuesday.

-A TOTAL OF 12 TEAMS AT FOUR STREAMSThe 29th Annual Georgetown Intercollegiate will again have a strong Eastern presence within its 12-team field. Joining host Georgetown and Notre Dame is Campbell, DePaul, Miami (Ohio), Penn State, St. Joseph's, Toledo, UAB, West Florida, William & Mary and Xavier.

-TOURNAMENT RESULTSResults will be posted on the UND Athletic Department Web site (www.UND.com) at the conclusion of each round. There will be no live stats during play.

-LOOKING AHEADNotre Dame will close the fall schedule Oct. 27-29 at The Invitational at Kiawah in Kiawah Island, S.C.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The rigors of navigating a major championship layout were evident in the most recent tournament for the University of Notre Dame men's golf team, the Crooked Stick Intercollegiate at the famed Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. The Irish earned a solo eighth place finish last week at Crooked Stick to set the stage for the 29th annual Georgetown Intercollegiate this week at the Member's Club at Four Streams in Beallsville, Md.

Notre Dame nearly won the 2012 event, claiming its best finish of the season with a runner-up effort of 865 (290, 286, 289) over three rounds to place two strokes behind tournament champion Toledo.

"We had a lot of fun there last year, especially because we had an opportunity to win," Notre Dame assistant coach Scott Gump said. "Winning doesn't come about every single tournament, so to have that opportunity there gives us good feelings for this week. The golf course is user-friendly in its layout, and usually the better players will rise to the occasion because they see their scoring opportunities. That's what we did last year, we scored well, we putted well, and really did everything well."

After completing play at the Crooked Stick Intercollegiate on Tuesday, the Irish had only two days to finalize their lineup in time for a weekend flight to the Washington D.C. area. Gump said that the quick turnaround, which is the second of three Notre Dame tournaments scheduled within a two-week span, meant that a player's entire body of work was the determining factor for the week's qualifying.

"Maybe you would rather do an 18-hole qualifier, but guys have submitted themselves running onto 20 rounds of golf, so we weren't sure if just a one-round shootout was going to fly," Gump said. "It is going to be a lot of fun, and the guys are ready. For me, I called it the `16 days of Glory,' like the Olympics, because we are playing three of our tournaments in a 16-day time span. We are a third of the way down with two thirds of the way to go."

With memories of last season's success at Four Streams still fresh on the minds of veteran Notre Dame players Niall Platt and Tyler Wingo, who participated in the tournament last year, Gump was clear in saying that the key in golf is to approach each day as something brand new. To play at the highest level, players almost have to recognize that what occurred in the past does not necessarily reflect what will happen in the future.

"For these guys to understand that is a large task, and we have to get them to reset regardless," Gump said. "If Niall has a nice 70 and played well, that's great but it's old news. When you get there and tee it up every day is fresh, every day is new, and that actually takes some mental discipline. It's nice in theory, but when the emotions get involved and everyone tells you how good you are, or if you finish dead last, either way it can be challenging to show up with the mindset of a fresh day."